Poet
by in these chains
Summary: Cassie and Mark are on the Titanic, set for America with two relatives to leave their painful England past behind. Mark befriends two lucky poker players, while Cassie and Cora constantly run into a lonley first class redhead. CH 1: Jack and Fabrizio
1. We're Really Here

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership.**

"Mark, we're actually here!" I bubbled for the eight millionth time. "We're _on_ the Titanic!"

Mark grinned and swung me around. He could still do that, since I was pretty small for twelve years old. Plus the fact that Mark, at twenty-three, was really big and strong and junk. I had a feeling he's be swinging me around until we were old and gray in rocking chairs. Older brothers were always bigger than their little sisters (even though Mark was only my half-brother) and the eleven-year age difference only amplified that. He seemed even older, since he had been taking care of me and Merdoc since I was seven, he was eighteen, Merdoc was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and his mother was still alive. Even though we lived with Uncle Jim, Mark had to work a lot to help support us, as did Uncle Jim. Sometimes my little cousin, Cora, and I would run around doing odd jobs for people to earn a few pennies, but it was only enough to buy a French croissant or a lolly. Uncle Jim and Mark would never accept money we earned, saying that we had to spend it on ourselves or they would give it away. One time me and Cora saved our money for almost a full year and bought two pretty dresses, like the kind they wear in first class. I had brought mine with me.

"Merdoc's excited too, aren't'cha, boy?" I asked the orange tabby. He licked my face with his rough tongue in response. Merdoc was curled around my shoulders.

"I'm excited too, Cass, but you don't see me screaming and jumping around," Mark said, laughing. "It's not like we're first class or anything. We're just steerage."

"So what?" I said, pressing against the wall of the crowded hallway to let a family pass. I jumped up and down. "We're on the TI-TA-NIC."

"We're the luckiest sons of bitches in the world, you know that?" yelled a blond guy, with an American accent like ours, running past us with an Italian-looking man following (and knocking me against the wall again).

"Ow, my shoulder," I muttered. "You okay, Merdoc?"

"Come on, Cassie, let's go watch the ship take off!" exclaimed Mark. We ran after the blond guy and his Italian friend, who were going to the top deck, and grabbed the rail, waving to people we didn't even know.

"Goodbye!" yelled that blond guy.

"You know somebody?" asked the blond guy's friend, with a strong Italian accent. I had been right.

"Of course not - that's not the point! GOODBYE! I'LL MISS YOU!"

"I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU!"

Me and Mark joined right in. The blond guy grinned and turned to Mark.

"Jack Dawson," he said.

"Mark Meyers," replied Mark.

"Fabrizio," said Jack's Italian friend.

"This is my sister Cassie, and our cat, Merdoc," said Mark. "What brings you on the Titanic?"

"Luck in a poker game," said Jack, grinning. "What about you?"

"I know a guy who knows a guy... got tickets the easy way," replied my brother. "If it had just been Cassie and me it could've been a class higher than steerage, but my uncle and little cousin are coming too, and we're content." Uncle Jim and Cora weren't blood related to Mark - Uncle Jim is my father's brother - but it didn't matter to us.

"So, a-how you like the ship, eh?" Fabrizio asked me, winking. He had a childish smile.

"Very swanky," I said, grinning. I turned to my brother. "Mark, I'm going to go look for Cora and Uncle Jim," I said as the ship pulled away. I kissed him on the cheek and ran for room 404, where my little cousin Cora, her dad - my uncle Jim, Mark and me were staying. "401... 403... oh, other side - here we go!" I knocked on the door.

"Hello?" asked Cora's voice.

"Good day miss, do you need your laundry done?" I put on a stern voice.

"What?" said Cora's voice, obviously confused. "No, I don't - Cassie, is that you?"

She opened the door and squealed, hugging me. "Hey, Cora!"

"Is the bad man with you?" she asked seriously, eyes wide.

"No, we left Mark's daddy a long time ago," I said. Cora jumped into my arms.

"CASSIE, I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" she screamed, hugging the life out of me. "I thought I was never going to see you again!"

"I'm here, Cora," I said, hugging my little cousin back. "I missed you too, so, so much. Can I come in?"

"Of course!" I let Cora down and she opened the door further and I walked in. Uncle Jim gave me a big hug.

"Cassie darling, I was worried about you and Mark and Merdoc ever since..."

I kissed Uncle Jim on the cheek. "No, we're fine. We ran away. Last week. We would've run away sooner but I had the flu and Mark wouldn't let me talk him into running away before I got better."

"He's a smart guy, your brother," said Uncle Jim, kissing the top of my head. "Where is he?"

"We met a couple of guys - Jack and Fabrizio - and they're talking," I replied. "Cora, they were both really cute," I added. Cora giggled. I sighed. "Too bad they're old men like Mark."

Uncle Jim pretended to take offense. "I happen to be a good twenty years older than Mark! What does that make me?"

"Um, wise?"

Uncle Jim laughed. I stretched out on the top bunk of the bed Cora wasn't sitting on and sighed.

"The grandest ship in the world. The ship that can never sink. And here we are on its maiden voyage!"

I sat straight up and pulled a large pad and pencil out of the giant pocket of my simple dress. I thought for a moment and scribbled down a few lines:

"_Unsinkable ship" is what they all say._

_Her maiden voyage begins today!_

_Stretched before her are endless seas._

_Everyone is on their knees._

_Get to America soon, they say._

_But on this ship, can they not stay?_

_Away from the world for just a short while,_

_nothing but ocean for many a mile._

_The freedom, the air, the experience, the sea,_

_are more important than America to me._

A little on the rushed side, but I had to get my feelings out. I'd lose them otherwise. Suddenly, Cora was next to me, trying to read the poem.

"Will you teach me to read, Cassie?" she begged.

"Sure, but not now."

"Why not?"

"We have to go outside and find Mark."

"Yeah!"

I looked at Uncle Jim and he smiled. "I'm going to unpack, you girls go ahead. Tell Mark I'm glad you're both all right."

I grinned. "Come on, Cora!" We ran out of the room and down the hallway, catching the lift as it was about to go up. Three other people were in it, not counting the operator.

"Wait for us!" exclaimed Cora. The lift operator opened the door for us and we went in. "The lift gates are pretty, huh, Cassie?"

"Very pretty," I said. The other three people in the lift were obviously first class. A man in a black suit with dark hair stood next to an older woman with a stern face and red hair. A younger woman, the man's age, or close to it, stood on his other side. She had red hair like the older woman and a rather bored expression. I could tell she was listening to Cora chattering about how much fun we were going to have and how she couldn't wait to see Mark again. There was a hint of something in her eyes - envy? Why would a first-class girl envy two steerage girls like Cora and me?

The lift stopped at A-deck and the operator stopped me and Cora when we tried to get out, first letting the three first-class people out. Cora glared at him as he let us through.

"That wasn't very nice," she declared. The operator ignored us and I ushered Cora out of there. We ran past the three people from the lift as I explained how it worked on the RMS Titanic.

"The first-class people are rich and snobby, and for some reason, everyone thinks they're better than us," I said. "They get to do everything first, and Mark's friend said that their rooms are not just one room- they've got separate bathrooms and sitting rooms and sun rooms and a million bedrooms - while we have to be in a tiny room with four beds. The first-class people don't like us, they think they're better than us." The bored-looking redhead looked saddened by this.

"But they're not," said Cora, confused. "We're just as good as them, just not with a lot of money."

"I know," I sighed. "That's the way things work, though."

I caught a glimpse of the three people as Cora and I rounded a corner. The older woman and the man looked disgusted, and the younger woman looked thoughtful, and sad, and envious, and angry, and somehow happy, all in one, and it was terribly confusing. I didn't know what to make of it.

"MARK!" we started yelling. "MARK!"

Cora and I must have run around the ship at least twice, a lot since it was so _big_, all the while yelling for Mark. It was fun to run around with Cora again. I had missed her sweet little self so. When we finally found Mark, he was talking to Jack and Fabrizio still.

"MARK!" screamed Cora. She hurtled into his arms before he registered she had even made a sound.

"Cora!" he exclaimed, grabbing her up in a huge hug. "You scared the hell out of me, kiddo!"

"Uncle Jim is glad we're both all right," I said, not caring that I had interrupted him and Jack and Fabrizio. Well, Cora had done that, actually. "You really should've come with me to find him and Cora here, you know."

Mark just grinned at me. He sat with Cora on his lap and I took a seat next to him.

"Sorry to interrupt you, gentlemen," I said, sticking my nose in the air and smoothing out my hopelessly wrinkled dress. Jack winked at me.

"Bad encounter with a first-class person?"

"Naw, it was the left operator, but it involved first-class people," I said, and explained out experience on the lift. Fabrizio laughed.

"It-a sounds like two little girls will-a be taking the stairs from-a now on, eh?" he said.

"He was very rude," said Cora. "He even let the man off before us and didn't remember the ladies first rule."

"How could he have forgotten that?" laughed Mark.

"You always do," I joked, pulling my pad out of my pocket. I flipped to the next blank page and wrote:

_First class first._

_Don't kid yourself, you know it._

_First class first._

_Who says you have to obey?_

_First class first._

_Aw, who cares? _

_First class first._

_You're in a hurry!_

_First class first._

_They're all men and you're a steerage girl._

_First class first._

_Shove them out of your way._

_Ladies first._

I ripped the poem off and handed it to Cora.

"When I teach you how to read, read that and remember your first encounter with first class," I said to her.

"What's that, a sketchpad?" asked Jack curiously.

"Nope, poems," I replied.

"Can I see?" he asked. I had a feeling he wouldn't have protested if I had said no, but I didn't. He looked at the pages of my feelings and thoughts, and I could tell from the way his face deepened that he had reached the section of the pad I had written in when Mark and me lived with Mark's dad. Then he turned a few more pages and read the poem I had just written about the Titanic. Jack whistled as he handed the pad back to me. "You've got an amazing talent."

I blushed. "They're not that good," I mumbled shyly.

"Yeah, they are," Mark said, elbowing me. "Why can't you admit that you're an astounding poet, for twelve years old?"

"...because I'm not."

"I give up," said Mark. "She never takes compliments."

"I understand," said Jack easily. Fabrizio grinned and poked Jack's shoulder.

"I am-a knowing someone who will-a never admit he is a great artist," Fabrizio said.

"Shut up."

**Well, people, what do you think? Constructive criticisms will be welcomed, flames will be laughed at and nothing will be nothinged at. REVIEW!**


	2. Luncheon

**Patty: Lindsay's tied up at the moment... so I'm just going to say that she doesn't own Titanic!**

_The knife was cold against my throat. My feet barely scraped the grass as I struggled against my half-brother's father. _

"_So, Markus, are you coming with me, or do I have to kill your precious half-sister and simply find another woman to produce my heirs so I can get my inheritance? This wretch of your whore of a mother's means nothing to me - but she holds great value to you, correct, Markus?"_

_Mark's eyes frothed with hate, an expression I had never seen on him before, and it scared me. But he jerkily said, "I will come. Leave my sister alone. She's not blood related to you and plays no part in this."_

"_No, I think you'll be much more cooperative with her pretty little neck on the line... come! We haven't all night, I daresay that fool you call your uncle and his cub will wake up soon."_

_Luckily Mark had left a note explaining what might happen, but Uncle Jim and Cora would still worry._

"_I will get us out of here, Cassie," Mark had promised me when we were locked in the cellar. "I love you."_

When I woke up in a cold sweat the next morning, something fat and furry was curled up next to me. It had just been a dream. Merdoc was right next to me. Mark's father was probably still trying to find us, but he'd never dream that we had made it onto the Titanic. And if by some chance he were here, he would be first class, and not find us. Ever again. I tried to forget it, stroking Merdoc's head. He stretched out on his back and turned green eyes on me, waiting for me to rub the white fur on his throat and chest. How I loved that dumb old cat.

But Merdoc wasn't the only one who was next to me. Cora was asleep on my other side, one small thumb in her mouth, the other arm wrapped around her cherished doll, Shannon. My own ragged teddy bear, Amanda, was on my pillow. I smiled at Cora's sleeping frame. Before Mark's father had made us come with him - and I still had nightmares about a knife at my throat - Cora would pretend to have bad dreams so I would let her sleep in my bed, because she didn't like sleeping alone. She had probably decided she wouldn't wake me.

It was nice to wake up with Cora again. In the month we had been gone, dreams had dominated my sleep. Dreams of horrible things happening not only to me, but to Merdoc, Mark, Uncle Jim and Cora as well. I sighed in contentment, putting an arm around Cora and hugging her tightly. I wanted to stay like that forever, just me, my cat and my cousin, all comfortable and together, with Mark right in the bunk below mine and Uncle Jim beneath Cora's empty bunk.

Eventually we started stirring. As usual, Mark was the first one up. He was a morning person. I am not.

"Up and at 'em, girls!" said Mark, his hair all tousled and messed up. He grinned, shaking Cora gently awake. "Come on, Cora-Bell, time to get up! Cass? Wake up!"

I yawned and stretched, Merdoc doing the same thing. He jumped nimbly from the top bunk to the floor, landing lightly on his feet for such a fatty, and sitting on top of my dress. I blearily climbed down, lifted him off and got dressed. Cora was pretending to be asleep - not very convincing, as she kept giggling.

I went to splash some cold water on my face, and when I did, I felt refreshed. Mark was lifting Cora down from the top bunk, and standing her on her feet. Uncle Jim was still trying to focus his eyes.

"Morning, Uncle Jim," I said, giving him a hug and kiss. He kissed me on the cheek and I grabbed my pad, shoving it into a pocket. We all got ready and went to breakfast, Merdoc riding around my shoulders as usual, and ate quickly because we wanted to explore the ship. Mark found Jack and Fabrizio and sat with them, talking, while Cora leaned over the side of the ship.

"How does the ship move, Daddy?" she asked curiously. Uncle Jim held her steady on the fence and began explaining how the propellers worked.

I grew bored and walked over to Mark, Jack and Fabrizio, sitting down next to Jack. The three of them were talking to a guy with an Irish accent.

"Ah, that's typical," the guy said, watching a first-class man walking three dogs. "First class dogs come down here to take a shit."

"Lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things," joked Jack.

"Like we could forget?" The Irish guy shook Jack's hand. "I'm Tommy Ryans."

"Jack Dawson."

"Mark Meyers."

"Fabrizio."

"Oy... do you make any money with your drawings?"

Jack had been sketching Cora and Uncle Jim. He looked up from it (it was quite good) and stared at something on the higher deck. I followed his gaze. It was the younger redhead from the lift! She was just staring into space. Then, she looked right at Jack, before being pulled away from the man we had seen also in the lift. She seemed angry at him, and walked away. He followed.

"Ah, forget about it, boyo," said Tommy. "You'd as like have angels flyin' out of your arse as get next to the likes o' her."

I giggled. Tommy looked at me. "I don't think I caught your name, miss."

"Cassie," I said. "Mark's sister."

Cora ran over to us and tripped on her dress, hurtling into Jack's lap.

"Whoa there!" he exclaimed, standing her on her feet. "You okay, Cora?"

She nodded, giggling. "Sorry, Jack," she said. He grinned easily.

"Don't worry about it. After all, you _are_ my best girl."

She giggled again. "Is that your por...portfo..."

"Portfolio?"

"Thank you, Cassie... and is that it?" she asked, pointing at the leather holder.

"Yeah, it is," replied Jack. He opened it and showed her the picture he had just sketched of her and Uncle Jim. She was clearly awed.

I laughed. She was so cute. After Jack showed her a few more of his pictures, we played patty cake for awhile, except that Cora wasn't wonderful at it because she couldn't get the claps at the right time.

"I wonder if we can draw a hopscotch board on the floor," thought Cora out loud.

"I doubt it," I replied. The guys were talking again, along with Uncle Jim. "Hey, Cora, want to wear your pretty dress?"

"Yeah!"

"Want to have a real first class luncheon?"

Cora nodded so hard her hair smacked against her face.

"Well, want to sneak into it?"

Cora clapped her hands over her mouth and nodded again. I grinned and walked up to Uncle Jim.

"Uncle Jim, can we go back to our room?" I asked. "Cora forgot something, and then we're going to rest a bit."

"Of course, girls," he said. "Don't get into any trouble now!"

I grinned at Cora as we hurried back to our room. "If only he knew." But that was one of the many wonderful things about Uncle Jim, that he was so clueless.

I set Merdoc on Mark's bunk, and he watched with a disapproving eye as we got dressed.

"Cassie, I can't lace up," said Cora. I helped her into her dress, which was light pink and frilly, and had her put on the pretty pale pink gloves and hat with the white ribbon. She laced my corset for me, tying a bit tighter than necessary, but I was fine.

We walked primly into first class luncheon, taking little steps and nodding and smiling at everyone we saw. Merdoc, clearly wanting no part in this, had gone wandering about the ship. We found an empty little table and sat down, and the waiter came over after a few moments of quiet giggling to ourselves that this was working.

"I'll have the lamb," I said to the waiter. "Medium, and with heaps of mint sauce, please? And what would you like, Cora?"

"The same," she said distractedly, looking around. The waiter nodded and left. "Cassie, do you think that girl with the red hair will be here?"

"I'd imagine so, she was in first class," I said. "But we just saw her before, and Jack was staring at her."

"Really?" asked Cora.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "I think that he likes her."

Cora smiled. "Well, that's good. But I feel like... I dunno, it's weird... I kind of feel like she wants help. Like she was _jealous_ of us."

"Jealous?" I laughed, but I had noticed it too. I was about to continue, but then I saw something that made my blood run cold. A man with familiar straight shoulders, impeccably clean clothes with no wrinkles and a black hat... he turned around and I gasped. "Come on, Cora, we've got to go."

"Why?" she asked, but I was already standing and lifting her out of her chair and carrying her out of the first class luncheon. "Cassie? Why did we have to leave?"

"Because... because, uh, we can't pay for that lamb," I said, running as fast as I could go with Cora on my hip. "We've got to go back to our room and change back into our clothes and find Mark and Uncle Jim, okay?"

"Okay..."

She didn't understand, but that was a good thing. She didn't have to know. But it _couldn't_ have been him, he _couldn't _be here, on the Titanic of all places!

Mark's father could _not _be here. It was so unlikely. There was no way that had been him I had seen.

But I wasn't taking any chances.


	3. The Plot Thickens

**Sorry about the wait, guys... still don't own _Titanic..._ and I decided to answer my reviews this chapter.**

**titanicgirl1625 - Aw, thanks! It means so much when I hear people say that. And in response to your other review... you'll just have to see who dies. That private message was one of the sweetest things I've ever recieved, thanks so much!**

**Mickey Mouse Gloves - First of all the pen name is really cute! And second, thank you very much. **

I decided not to tell Mark and Uncle Jim about the possibility that Mark's father (his name was Lionel) was here. All it would do is put them on the edge and ruin our fun. That couldn't happen... we had been without fun for too long.

It was night, and I couldn't sleep. I had put a coat on and was walking around the ship.

"Hey, Cassie, are-"

"AAH!" I screamed, sure it was Lionel, but instead, Jack's hand was resting on my shoulder. "Oh - sorry, Jack... I thought you were Li - I-I mean... someone... else..."

He looked at me, concerned. "Are you okay? You seemed a little scared."

I was terrified, I was shaking, I was about to vomit. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." he said wisely. "Come on, you can talk to me. We might be living near each other soon - your uncle Jim, Mark, and Fabrizio and I were talking about it."

"Really?" I said, forgetting my conflict for the time being. "That'll be great! We were planning on going somewhere near New York, but Mark said nothing was definite."

"I was talking to him before, when you and Cora were in your room, and he said he would come to Wisconsin with Fabrizio and I, and probably your Uncle Jim will come too."

I was delighted. "This is great! We can all be a family and Lionel will never-" I cut myself off in mid sentence. _Cassie, stop talking!_

"Who's Lionel?" asked Jack. I shook my head. "Cassie... who is Lionel?"

"I can't tell you!" I wailed. Jack put his arm around my shoulders.

"Of course you can," he said gently. And through his soft persuasion, I suddenly found myself telling him everything. I burst into tears and spilled everything to this man whom I hardly knew, or at least hadn't known for very long. Once I was done, he gave me a hug. "Cassie, this is serious. We should tell-"

"We can't!" I said almost wildly. "Mark - Uncle Jim - Cora - they can't know. They _can't know!_"

"Can I tell you a secret?" he asked. I nodded, wiping my eyes.

"Tonight, I stopped a girl from jumping off the ship. And then I was arrested for supposedly trying to rape her. And now, I've been invited to dinner in first class tomorrow."

I was speechless. "First class is easy to pull off," I said without thinking. "Me and Cora did it and everyone thought we were - I mean - ..."

"You and Cora sneaked into first class?" he demanded, raising his eyebrows. I nodded guiltily.

"Yeah..."

Instead of looking angry like I'd thought, he looked hopeful. "Can you give me some pointers? I have _no _idea what to do!"

I laughed too. But Jack grew serious after a few moments. "Cassie, if you run into Lionel again-"

"It's not Lionel," I insisted. "It can't be."

"Well, if you run into him again, you tell Mark and Jim, okay?"

"Okay..." I crossed my fingers behind my back. They would not know. We were going to have fun on this ship if it killed us.

After a few more minutes of talking, we went our separate ways. Jack's room was all the way on the other side of the deck, so the poor guy had a pretty long walk ahead of him.

That next morning, nearly all of the steerage passengers were on the deck, in the stern of the ship because where we walked was according to class. Jack was drawing funny faces for Cora in his sketchbook, and I was in a staring contest with Fabrizio, Merdoc once again twined around my shoulders. Mark and Uncle Jim were playing chess. Tommy was watching them, saying that he'd play winner.

My eyes felt shriveled from not blinking, but Fabrizio wasn't even tearing up.

"Hey, Fabrizio," I said, "look!"

He blinked unconsciously and looked behind him, and I started laughing. He turned back to me, looking exasperated.

"You leetle a-cheater!" he yelled, but I knew he was kidding around. Then his eye caught this blond woman sitting at a table with her family. He stared.

"Fabrizio?" I asked after about thirty seconds. "Hello? Fabrizio?"

Too late, he was gone into space. I shook my head and walked over to Jack and Cora. "Having fun?" I asked, looking at the faces Jack was drawing. Some made me laugh and others were plain creepy.

"Yeah!" they both said happily. I sat down and watched him start to draw another face. After a few minutes, I noticed that everyone was quiet. I looked up. It was that redhead from the lift, and from when we first met Tommy.

"Hello, Mr. Dawson," she said formally. Everyone was staring at her. We were in the steerage part of the ship. No one could think why she was here. "Would you care to accompany me on a walk?"

Jack looked bewildered. "Uh, sure." He masked it quickly with an easy grin and stood up. I stood up with him.

"You tell me you save a first-class girl, and yet you fail to tell me she's that same girl from yesterday!"

"Sorry..."

"Jack," I said, looking up (way, way up, because I'm so short) at him. "She's...not like the other first-class girls. I can tell."

"You're right," he said, grinning. "She's not." And he walked away with her.

"Well, shut my mouth," I said, scowling after them.

Tommy, Mark, and Fabrizio exchanged glances, then started laughing like a bunch of idiots. I shook my head. I then got an idea to follow them into first class. I decided not to bother with the fancy dress again, because I would lose them. Worst came to worst (in other words, if I were caught) I would say I had been invited into first class along with Jack; he would vouch for me and I had a feeling the redhead would also. I started to walk along after them, putting a finger to my lips when Cora saw me. She giggled silently. Merdoc, clearly wanting nothing to do with this, jumped off my shoulders and settled next to her.

I followed Jack and the redhead, who had just started talking about the weather, until they got to about the middle of the ship. Suddenly, Jack smiled.

"I think we have an eavesdropper," he said, turning around. I pretended to be looking over the rail, but Jack caught my shoulder. "Hey, Cassie."

"Hi," I said sheepishly. Jack grinned.

"Rose, this is Cassie Meyers. Cassie, Rose Dewitt Bukator."

"A pleasure," I said as I swept a curtsy, cheeks burning from embarrassment.

"The pleasure's all mine," said Rose politely. "Meyers? Are you of any relation to a friend of my fiancee's? Lionel Meyers?"

Jack's face grew serious and urgent, and he looked pointedly at me. My blood ran cold. Lionel was here. I almost screamed. He was ruining everything!

"_Cora's birthday party is today! Let us at least go to that!"_

He ruined Cora's party.

"_Oops, I do believe that's irreparable."_

He ruined the rocking horse Mark was making for her.

And now he was ruining our escape to America!

"Miss Meyers?" asked Rose, looking concerned.

"I - I'm - oh my god..." I turned around and started back for steerage. "Nice meeting you, Miss Dewitt Bukator! I'll see you later, Jack!"

Oh, my dear god. Lionel really was here.

I ran all the way back to steerage, fighting to calm myself down. I didn't stop on the deck, where Mark, Uncle Jim, Tommy, Fabrizio, that girl Helga, Cora, and Merdoc were probably still lounging around. I went right into our stateroom and threw myself on the top bunk of my bed, crying my eyes out.

Everything was ruined.


	4. Want To Dance?

**I'm trying to update faster, folks, I really am! I really, really am!**

**titanicgirl1625 - Yeah, I don't like cliffies either, but I love writing them. For some reason. And you're quite right, there are too many Jack-and-Rose-centric stories out there... but I like reading them anyway, lol. Thanks so much!**

**Laura9109 - Thanks!**

**Insectlover - Yeah, Fabrizio rocks, doesn't he? Thanks a bunch!**

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Later that day, I had calmed down enough to talk normally. Cora and Uncle Jim had gone to A-deck, probably to watch for the dolphins she had come to love so much. We hadn't yet run into Tommy. Jack was still talking to Rose. I was on my bunk, absently doodling (and green with envy because Jack was a much better artist than I). Merdoc was sleeping on my pillow. Fabrizio was sitting on Mark's bunk, below me, and Mark himself was lying on the floor opposite them with his legs up on Uncle Jim's bunk.

"But-a she only speaks-a Norwegian," finished Fabrizio rather dejectedly. The two guys were talking about Helga, the blond girl he had spotted and liked a lot yesterday.

"Ah, cheer up, Fabrizio," said Mark. "You know each other's names, don't you?"

"And-a nothing else," replied Fabrizio moodily.

"You'll get some kind of connection going," Mark assured him.

"I-a hope so."

"Don't worry," said my brother, punching Fabrizio's leg lightly. He put on a rich, Shakespearean voice. "True love knows no boundaries."

He and Fabrizio glanced at each other and grinned like the two goofballs they were.

"So how about that redhead from first class, huh?" Mark said.

Fabrizio grinned. "They just-a met, Jack-a tells me. Eet-a turns out she's-a the exact opposite of-a what you'd expect from a first-class-a girl."

"I thought not," I said, and related (for the second time) what had happened on the lift on the tenth.

"He should ask her out," said Mark.

"Her mother would have a stroke if he did," I said, shaking my head. "Cora and me ran into her on the tenth, too, in the lift. She just looks like she wouldn't approve."

Fabrizio grinned. "That's-a never stopped-a Jack."

I smiled. "Doesn't surprise me."

Yes, I was putting on a show. I was still shaken up from a couple of hours before, but as long as I stayed in steerage, as did Cora, Mark, and Uncle Jim, Lionel would never know we were here. I was trying to brainstorm, though. Rose had said her fiancee was a friend of Lionel's, and I was trying to figure out which. There had been John Jacob Astor, but hadn't he been married to someone named Madeline? There had been Guggenheim, but he had a wife as well. There had been Cal Hockley, and his valet, Lovejoy. Could it have been Hockley? I'd never seen him, but I'd had the misfortune of running into Lovejoy more than once.

"We should head to dinner," said Mark, interrupting my thoughts. Fabrizio and I agreed and got off our respective bunks.

We met up with Cora and Uncle Jim, and ate quickly, because dancing is more fun than eating, even if the food was pretty good. Once everyone had eaten, a couple of guys climbed up onto a table and started playing instruments.

"I love this ship!" I exclaimed, pulling Mark over to the floor, where everyone was pushing tables out of the way so people could dance.

"Do you even know how to Irish step dance?" asked Mark.

"Nope!"

Mark and I danced for awhile, and as other people began dancing too, I saw some people I recognized. There was Helga, dancing with her father, and there was the redheaded woman I'd been seeing around, watching her two children dancing together. Cora was dancing with Fabrizio, and Tommy was sitting, drinking a beer and drumming on the table. I lost sight of Cora as Mark spun me around and I almost fell. He pulled me up, both of us laughing. When the song was over, I sat down next to Tommy.

"Having fun, Cassie?" he asked in his Irish accent, taking a swig from the glass he had. I nodded happily.

"Yeah!" I looked around for my cousin. "Hey, do you know where Cora went? She was dancing with Fabrizio the last I-"

"She is-a not here," said Fabrizio from behind me, and I jumped a mile into the air.

"JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!" I yelped in surprise, and turned around to see a very startled Fabrizio. "Sorry... you scared me."

He and Tommy laughed at me, and I stuck my tongue out and walked away to find Cora. It didn't take long. She was sitting on top of a table, talking to a small Asian girl.

"And then Cassie just picked me up and made me leave," Cora was saying. "I think she didn't like being in first class."

"Ahem," I said, tapping her shoulder. She whirled around.

"Oh, hi, Cassie!" Cora said. "Rachel, this is my big cousin Cassie Meyers, and Cassie, this is my new friend Rachel Fuller. She's nine."

"Hi," I said.

"Hello," replied Rachel. She had an American accent like us.

"You guys having a good time?"

Both replied with an affirmative, so I turned to go back to the guys and let Cora and her friend chat. A guy I hadn't seen before was talking to Tommy. He looked about my age and had longish dark hair and pale skin. I waltzed over there, nodding my head in time to the music.

"Found Cora!" I said, sitting across from Tommy.

"Good," replied Tommy. "Cassie, I don't know if you've met Todd Waters?"

"Hi," I said. "I'm Cassie Meyers."

"Hey," Todd replied. "Tommy's already saved me the trouble of introducing myself. And here I was thinking I was rid of him." Todd was Irish, too.

"Ah, shut up, kid," said Tommy idly.

"You know each other?" I asked.

"Lived next door," replied Todd.

"Don't listen to anything he tells you, Cassie," said Tommy, "he's a little shit."

"Bug off, old man," Todd lashed back. I laughed. They were acting like brothers. "You've been hanging out with him this whole time, Cassie?"

"Yeah," I replied, with a smile. Todd shuddered, and Tommy smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "Tommy, where'd Fabrizio go?"

"He's dancing," said Tommy.

"With who? Mark?" I laughed.

"No," Tommy grinned. "Helga."

I gasped. "Oh my god! Yes!" I punched the air. Tommy laughed.

"Is Fabrizio that guy you were talking to, Tommy?" asked Todd.

"Yeah," replied Tommy. "The one who introduced himself to you as 'Hello, I'm-a Fabrizio." He tried to imitate Fabrizio's accent, without much success, and I was not the only one who thought so.

"You have a horrible Italian accent," said Todd frankly. I giggled.

"He's right."

Tommy stood up. "Well, I have better things to do than be insulted by a couple of eleven-year-olds."

"I'm twelve!" I said indignantly.

"I'm thirteen!" protested Todd at the same time. Tommy grinned.

"You kids have fun." And he walked away.

"You seem like you've known him for awhile," I said. Todd sat next to me.

"Yeah, since I was, like, seven," he replied. "Always been like an older brother. Like an annoying older brother," he added as an afterthought. I laughed.

"My brother Mark is the same way sometimes," I said. "But I'm glad I'm with him."

"Yeah, I guess I'm glad Tommy's here," said Todd.

"Are you here by yourself?"

"Until I met up with Tom? Yeah. My parents died a year ago, and I was sent to an orphanage. I ran away, got myself on this ship, and who do I run into but the annoying guy who lived next door?"

I gave a small, polite laugh. "How'd you get your ticket?"

Todd looked at me, serious this time. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure."

He looked around to make sure no one was listening, and then bent his head towards me. I did the same. "I didn't get a ticket."

"You mean you're a _stowaway?_" I said in a whisper. Todd noddd.

"You can't tell anyone," he said urgently.

"Why would I do that?" I asked, genuinely confused. "We're friends, right?"

Todd grinned. "Guess so."

I smiled, too, but then someone's small hands came down on my shoulders.

"HI, CASSIE!"

"FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST IN HEAVEN!" I screamed, whipping around to see a snickering Cora. "IS EVERYONE _TRYING _TO SCARE ME TODAY?"

"I dunno about everyone else," said Cora, "but I sure am!"

I scowled. "Thanks, Cora."

She giggled and sat on my lap. "Who are you?"

"I'm Todd Waters," said Todd. "Who are you?"

"Cora Cartmell," said my little cousin. "Are you Cassie's new boyfriend?"

"All right," I said loudly, picking her up and standing, "it's time for you to go and - oh, Jack!" Jack and Rose were coming down the stairs.

"Hey, Cassie, you remember Rose, right?" Jack said.

"Yes, I do." I smiled at her. "Nice to see you again."

"You too," replied Rose.

"Jack, will you dance with Cora?"

Cora nodded energetically, and Jack grinned.

"Sure, I can spare a dance for my best girl."

I almost literally dropped her, and returned to the table, where Todd was watching with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry about that," I said, sitting down.

"It's all right," replied Todd. "She's cute."

"Isn't she?" I grinned, and shook my head. "A little too cute, sometimes."

Todd laughed. "Looks like everyone's dancing except us. You want to dance?"

"Sure!"

We stood up, and Todd took my hands. "You know how?"

"Does anyone?"

He laughed again, and we started dancing. The music was upbeat and I was having a great time. Todd was really good-looking, and he was nice, too. We swung and twirled and tripped (once or twice), and then, the music stopped and another tune came on. We were right near Cora and Jack at this point, and Rose was sitting down. As the next song began to play, Jack bent down to talk to Cora.

"I'm gonna dance with her now, okay?"

"Aww," I said, as Jack tried to convince Rose to stand up and dance. "He likes her."

Todd raised his eyebrows. "Wish him good luck getting her, she's a Dewitt Bukator."

"Yeah, the mother doesn't like steerage," I said. "I could tell. I ran into her on the lift."

"What fun," said Todd sarcastically.

"I know, isn't it?"

Todd and I danced during this song too, and we passed Helga and Fabrizio.

"Having fun, Fabri?" I said. He nodded with a big smile on his face, and Helga steered him towards the tables.

"I wonder who my brother's dancing with," I said aloud, but my question was soon answered: laughing like idiots, Mark and Tommy danced past.

Todd laughed. "Tommy's such a weirdo."

"Mark, too."

"Whoa, look at the lady dance!" exclaimed Todd, pointing to a table. Standing on top of it, Rose had thrown her shoes to someone and was Irish step dancing. Jack clapped once and joined her. "Want to dance on the table?"

"Sure, why not?"

We climbed on top of the table and joined Jack, Rose, Helga, and Fabrizio as they spun their respective dance partners around.

"Jack!" I heard Rose say. "No!"

"Whaaaaa!" was Jack's reply.

The song ended, and all of us, out of breath, went back to our table. Tommy was arm wrestling with a guy, and Jack came over and took two beers.

"Lose! Lose! Lose!" chanted Todd, who was sitting next to Tommy. Indeed, the other guy slammed Tommy's fist onto the table.

"Two out of three, two out of three!" challenged Tommy, and they grabbed hands again.

"So!" said Rose, leaning between them. "You think you're big, tough men?" She took Tommy's cigarette, puffed once, and gave it back. "Let's see you do this?" She took a handful of her long dress and gave it to Jack. "Hold this for me, Jack. Hold it up."

"What is she...?"

Rose began to rise into the air, and at first I thought, for one absurd moment, that she was levitating. I was wrong. She stood completely on her big toes, and fell into Jack's arms.

"OW!" she yelped.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," muttered one woman, as the rest of us clapped.

"You all right?" asked Jack.

"I haven't done that in years!"

I laughed, and happened to look over to the stairs. I'm quite sure my face turned dead white. Lovejoy was peering into the party. He saw Rose quite literally hanging from Jack's grip, both of them smiling. And then he saw me. I turned on my heel and ran across the room, knocking over at least four people and jostling a good deal more. Another tune started up, and a chain dance began. I saw Rose, Fabrizio, Jack, and Helga pass, but felt no inclination to join them. Todd, Cora, Mark, Tommy, Cora's friend Rachel, everyone I knew joined the chain. But I was afraid that if I moved, I'd be seen.


End file.
